Justice Resource Institute takes on the challenges...

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JRI's History

In 1973, in response to problems created by deinstitutionalization in Massachusetts, several young leaders began the Justice Resource Institute. This unique resource was created to partner with governmental agencies to address the most confounding problems of the rapidly changing justice and human services systems. At first, JRI served court-involved individuals, eventually working with 26 courts in the commonwealth to institute intensive probation, alternative sentencing, restitution, and mediation programs. The Urban Court Program, begun by Justice Resource Institute in Dorchester Court, was named an exemplary program by the United States Department of Justice.

Over the years, Justice Resource Institute has taken responsibility for solving a broader array of problems of deinstitutionalization. Sequentially, the agency demonstrated, and now continues to operate, effective programs for: those with severe developmental delays who require significant medical involvement; developmentally delayed individuals living with mental illness and behavioral challenges; mentally ill/behaviorally challenged adolescents; court-involved children and adolescents; people living with HIV/AIDS; gay, lesbian bisexual, and transgendered youth; and children and adolescents who have experienced trauma. JRI also provides home-based counseling and trauma-informed care for the populations its programs serve.

Justice Resource Institute, in addition to being the most programmatically diverse, is now one of the largest human services providers in the Commonwealth. Today, Justice Resource Institute operates mental health clinics in several community sites, street youth outreach, court and probation consultative services, comprehensive services for adult developmentally disabled, and residential schools for mentally ill, cognitively limited, developmentally disabled, and/or behaviorally challenging youngsters. Each program is exceptionally effective and widely known in its field of concentration, and provides services to individuals throughout the United States and abroad.

Justice Resource Institute has not pursued a strategy of following trends, but has instead initiated programs and developed models that have set trends and shaped systems. JRI does not grow through serially developing similar programs; instead, we operate a few exemplary programs of each model. Our work has compelled the development of more improved, more effective, more easily workable, and more solidly replicable models. In addition, we have increased the diversity and stability of our agency through merger, acquisition and partnerships that further our community goals and strengthen our services. Our partnership with the Trauma Center is just one example of this type of successful growth.

More: http://jri.org/about/history